3 Secrets for How to Write a Fundraising Email

Everyone in the nonprofit sector will eventually find themselves questioning how to write a fundraising email. How you craft these messages will have a huge effect on both new and returning donors.

Of course, there’s countless different ways to create the perfect email donation request. Obviously, this can vary dependent on your organization’s intended purpose. Luckily, there are a few secrets to writing fundraising emails that hold true regardless of cause.

1) Emails and Donation Pages Should Match

The messaging, design and visual aspects of your email should match those on your donation page. This maintains a consistent brand and ensures that potential donors know they’re working with a reputable organization.

In fact, some nonprofit email tools allow you to send individualized links that already contain pre-filled donor information. There’s no quicker way to make donating easy, secure and trusted.

2) Tell a Story, and Include the Donor

Regardless of the methods any given person picks up when learning how to write a fundraising email, the one thing they should take away is the need for a good story. Tell donors about a person or group who has benefited from your work.

The story should focus on making the person you helped – and not your organization – the real hero. Also explain how it’s the donor themselves that’s making these changes. Each of these methods appeals directly to a person’s emotions.

3) Keep it Short, but Remember the CTA

People don’t spend long reading their emails. This is especially the case when it involves asking for donations. This is why it’s a good practice to keep the entire message below 250 words.

Of course, this shouldn’t negate a proper call to action (CTA). Whether it’s “Click here” or “Enter your information,” the email should end by telling a donor the exact actions you need them to perform.

It’s More than Just Writing

Learning how to write a great fundraising email is only half of the battle. The tools that you use to send out and monitor these messages are just as important. Some online nonprofit tools, for instance, saw a nearly 30 percent increase in donations during Giving Tuesday 2018.

This is a huge boost experienced in very few industries or organizations. Use the aforementioned secrets when learning how to write a fundraising email, but once you have the message down, don’t sabotage it with inferior donor tools.

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